We could see the Auvergne hills at no great distance on our left--the Puy de Dome above them--and we four were riding together.

We had fallen--an unusual thing--to the rear of the party.

Our road at the moment was a mere track running across moorland, sprinkled here and there with gorse and brushwood.
The main company had straggled on out of sight.

There were but half a dozen riders to be seen an eighth of a league before us, a couple almost as far behind.

I looked every way with a sudden surging of the heart.